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Joey Logano said two facts are clear after he emerged from the organized chaos of NASCAR’s first
three-round knockout qualifying session yesterday with the pole position at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.

This new qualifying system is a whole lot more interesting than the previous version.

And no one is sure what they are doing yet.

“It gets crazy out there,” said Logano, who earned his eighth career pole. “I think it’s way
cooler than old-style qualifying. … We’re all learning right now. It’s all new to us, but we’re
having fun with it. I enjoy it.”

The Penske Ford team has figured it out better than most. Logano won the pole for Sunday’s Las
Vegas race with a qualifying lap at a track-record 193.28 mph, and he will start on the front row
next to teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second at 193.099.

NASCAR added the knockout system to raise interest in a dull weekly ritual, and it’s working.
The teams are challenged by multiple chances to hit top speed. The drivers are worried about the
danger and excited by the challenge.

And fans seem quite intrigued, judging by the larger-than-usual crowd in the stands.

Drivers are concerned by the huge speed disparities on the track during the qualifying sessions.
Although some drivers were going about 30 mph to cool their engines, others were ripping right past
them about 150 mph faster, resulting in a handful of near-misses. Brian Vickers called yesterday’s
session “the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done in a race car.”

Indy 500 qualifying to be three rounds over two days

The new qualifying format for the Indianapolis 500 will include three rounds over two days, and
the pole-winner will be decided on what used to be Bump Day.

IndyCar also will award points incentives with the qualifying results. Those incentives have not
been announced.

Qualifying for the Indy 500 this year will begin on May 17, when the fastest 33 cars are locked
into the field. All entries will be guaranteed at least one four-lap attempt to qualify, and the
fastest nine drivers will move into the “Fast Nine Shootout.”

On Sunday, the previous day’s times are erased and entries 10 through 33 will complete another
four-lap qualifying attempt to determine starting positions. The fastest nine will then make one
four-lap attempt to determine the pole winner and starting front row.

The change comes as IndyCar struggles to fill the 33-car field, making the once tension-filled
Bump Day drama-free the past two years. Without additional entrants on hand trying to make the
race, Sunday had become a glorified practice session.

“The most important thing to realize here is we have to give our fans a better product both on
TV and at track,” driver and New Albany native Graham Rahal said.